Change of Heart
by AquilaTempestas
Summary: Lone Gunslinger is single by choice, but will the romance between Diego and Shira change his mind? [ORIGINALLY UPLOADED 2012]


_Lone Gunslinger is single by choice, but will the romance between Diego and Shira change his mind?_

A/N - Yup. Another re-upload.

**.**

Sitting atop on a thick sturdy branch, Lone Gunslinger watched the world below him. To his right, he could see the vast ocean stretch for miles never seeming to end; to his left, luscious vegetation covered the land, an array of plants and flowers giving the ice terrain some much needed colour. Animals of different species congregated together eating the vegetation, but one pair of mammals fascinated him. In amidst of all the herbivores, there were two carnivores playing tag in the clearing.

Two sabres to be precise. The male had a golden coat while the female had grey fur with black stripes. The two rolled around on the grass and chased each other in circles, soft growls of pleasure of leaving their mouths. Lone Gunslinger knew who the male was – Diego. They had crossed paths earlier before. Diego never struck him as the type to settle down with a female. He always seemed like the 'loner' type.

Curious, Lone Gunslinger jumped off the branch and flew towards the clearing. He wanted to get a closer look at the new Diego. He found another sturdy tree and sat down on the branch. The sabres were oblivious to his presence until Diego glanced up and noticed a large vulture watching. All humour faded from his face. "We're not in a fight if that's what you're thinking," Diego said through clenched teeth. "We're not trying to kill each other," he added.

The vulture rolled his eyes. "I'm not looking for an easy meal," he said, tucking in his wings. "Where's the rest of your herd?" Whoops. Not the best question to ask. Diego growled again, and his female companion also glared. "I didn't mean it in that way," the vulture defended, "usually you're inseparable... or did you come here alone for some private play time?" he added, a knowing smirk crossing his face.

"Are you suggesting..." Diego started.

"Oh, don't be like that, it's only natural right? A male and a female spending time together alone away from the herd..." the vulture said, making dramatic gestures with his wings.

"Right... I guess you speak from experience?" Diego retorted.

The vulture narrowed his eyes. "I speak based on observation. You see a lot of things from up high." A shudder ran down his spine. Some of the things he had seen taking place made him wish his vision wasn't that good. "I predict that in a few weeks, your lady friend here will have some cubs," he added, looking at the female.

"Her name is Shira," Diego said.

Lone Gunslinger fixed his eyes on Shira's fur coat. "I can't say I've ever come across a sabre with a coat like yours before."

"I'll take that as a compliment," she replied dryly, "but what about you? Don't you have a significant other to spend time with, or do you spend all your life belittling others?"

Diego smirked. "He's Lone Gunslinger. He doesn't have anyone else."

"Don't need to either," the vulture snapped, all former amusement gone. "I'm happy with life as it is."

Shira rubbed her face against Diego's neck, purring softly, "But you don't know what you're missing. All this negative talk surely must come from a lack of experience." The smirk on Diego's face widened. Clearly, he was enjoying this and that only added to more agitation on the vulture's side. As far as he was concerned, having a relationship with a female vulture was beyond terrifying. It didn't help that all female vultures were slightly bigger than their male counterparts; they also had huge appetites and were known to be quite controlling. It wasn't a life he desired.

"Sabre love life is different from vulture love life," Lone Gunslinger commented, wishing he was somewhere else right now. This was a mistake. Time to leave. "It was nice chatting with you, but I'm leaving." And with that said, he spread out his wings and took off into the crisp clear sky, ignoring the laughter from the sabres. Love was so overrated.

He continued to flap until he reached his favourite opening in the cliff. It was the highest point, and largest opening, in all the land and no other vulture dared to use it. It was his territory and perfect for watching the ocean. In the afternoon, he would sit and watch as the sun dipped below the horizon. It was truly a beautiful sight to behold... not that he would ever tell the other vultures that. He waddled inside and sat down resting his legs, his eyes fixed on the horizon.

It didn't take long for his peace to be disturbed. The sound of flapping wings caused him to stand. Turning his head, he spotted another vulture standing on his ledge! He lowered his head and held out his wings slightly then moved forward hissing. He then stopped when he realized the other vulture was a female. She was less than thrilled. "Is this how you treat a lady?" she demanded.

"This is my ledge."

"I don't see your name on it."

"All vultures know this is mine." He was the leader and the leader got first pickings.

"I'm not from around here," she replied, bending her neck down to pull out a loose feather. Lone Gunslinger watched the feather fall to the ground then turned his attention back on her. She was only slightly bigger than himself and she was in obvious good health. Glossy black wings, healthy blood-free pink skin... wait what? Was he seriously just checking out this female bird? No way.

"That much is obvious. What are you doing here?"

She snorted. "Looking for someplace to sleep, it's been a long flight and this place was unoccupied."

"So, you thought you could just take over without asking?"

"Well I'm sorry. I wasn't aware you owned this place," she retorted, then sat down. "I'm not leaving."

Great, now he was stuck with a crabby female vulture sitting on his doorstep. Instead of fighting, he sat there and stared unsure of what to do. Calling his friends for assistance wouldn't be a good idea – they would most likely just tease him. Besides, they were on patrol, but he couldn't just sit here and do nothing. "Where are you from?"

"Half Peak, ever been there before?"

"Flown past it before, but the place didn't appeal to me. I prefer this place." He held out a wing and gestured to his surroundings. "Switchback Cove."

"Yes, it is a nice place. Lots of colour," she said, turning her head towards the horizon, "and surrounded by water. You've got a nice place here. I can imagine how beautiful it looks watching the sunset," she added, tone softening.

.

Lone Gunslinger felt a sense of pride well up inside him upon hearing her words. At least she thought his home was a good one. "It's the best place in all of Switchback Cove."

"I didn't get your name," she said, returning her attention on him.

"Lone Gunslinger."

She frowned. "Why do they call you that?"

"Well, I'm the leader of this colony of vultures."

"And single I presume?"

"Uh... yeah. What's your name?"

"Felicia." She stood up from her position and walked over to his side. Lone Gunslinger was taken aback by her sudden change in personality and did nothing. "I want to see the sunset."

"You're welcome to stay if you want," he replied before he could stop himself. Now he was inviting her to sleep over, what would be next? Sharing a corpse? What would his friends think of this? He was the Lone Gunslinger, a loner by choice!

She sat down next to him. "Thanks, I'd like that."

This was becoming stranger by the minute. At first, she struck him as the typical female vulture, but she was soft now. A brief image of Diego and Shira playing tag appeared in his mind. If things continued this route, would he end up playing tag with Felicia? He could just see the two sabres grinning. But he had to admit, the companionship was nice.

Was this the start of something more? Only time would tell.

.

Diego rested his paws over the side of the ledge, his eyes focused intently on the mountain ahead. At times he wondered what it would be like to live above the ground; what would the view be like up there in the clouds? Deep in thought, he was oblivious to Shira's form sitting beside him. "Something wrong?" she said, jolting him out of his trance.

The male sabre looked at her. "I wonder how our dear feathered friend is doing now."

She shrugged. "I doubt he's serenading any vultures." She flopped down onto her belly and wriggled, making herself comfortable in the grass. "It'd be kind of weird seeing him with another vulture, don't you think? He doesn't strike me as the type."

Diego snorted. "I once thought myself as a lone bachelor too, and now look where I am." He gazed down at her with adoration. "I never imagined I would find myself a mate." Lowering his head, he brought his nose close to her face and licked her.

"That's true," she replied, playfully swatting Diego's face away. She rolled back onto her belly, all humour fading from her face. "I never thought I'd find happiness myself," she said softly. "I left my pack to become a pirate taking orders from a smelly ape. I built up my defences and swore no one would break down those barriers, but you managed to." She rubbed her head against him.

"I guess we prove it then, love isn't impossible after all."

"You're saying even someone like Sid can find a mate?" Shira teased.

Diego nuzzled her face then grinned. "Sid might not look like much, but he has a big heart. I'm sure there's a sloth out there waiting for him." He dropped down onto his belly. "Have I ever told you just how amazing you are?"

Shira rolled her eyes. "Oh, trying to be a romantic, are you? That look doesn't suit you Diego, but I appreciate the effort," she replied, sapphire eyes shining with amusement. "I stand by what I said when we first met... you are pretty soft for a sabre..." Diego frowned and opened his mouth to reply, but Shira shook her head. "I like you just the way you are, there's just something about sensitive sabres that makes them so irresistible," she added, grinning.

"You're playing a dangerous game, kitty," Diego replied, although he too had a grin on his face.

She gave him an incredulous look. "Oh, what are you going to do tough guy?"

He grinned. "I'll show you."

.

Lone Gunslinger continued to watch Felicia roost on the ledge. The sun was now setting on the horizon, but the female vulture did not budge. He lowered his neck and cautiously walked over to her side. "Hey... Felicia... wake up, the sun is setting," he whispered.

An eyelid opened. "What time is it?" she said, slowly picking herself up. She yawned again then stretched her glossy wings.

"Time for the sun to set... look," Lone Gunslinger replied, lifting a wing and pointing to the sun. Felicia turned her head and gasped at the sight before them. The orb of yellow light sat on the horizon slowly beginning its descent. Soon, night would be upon them and the stars would fill up the sky.

"It's beautiful..." she whispered. Subconsciously, she moved closer to him. She didn't seem to notice, but he certainly did. It took all his willpower not to jump back. Backing off would give off an unfriendly aura and that wasn't something he wanted. He hated to admit it; but Felicia was a fine-looking vulture and he didn't want her to leave. It wasn't often he attracted females to his house – most knew to stay away.

The sun continued to dip behind the horizon until it could no longer be seen. An awkward silence ensued, and Lone Gunslinger felt a wave of uncertainty rush through him. What now? He tried to think of something romantic to say, but the only thing that came to mind was an invitation to eat some of the leftover scraps. Somehow, offering Felicia scraps of leftover dried out meat didn't seem like a good idea. "Err..." he started then scolded himself for speaking. This female bird was making a complete fool out of him. How the other vultures would laugh when they heard about this.

"Do you have anything to eat?"

"Well, there's bound to be some leftover meat from the corpses on the ground below," he offered, then winced. She coked her head to the side giving him an odd look. He cleared his throat and tried again, "What I meant to say was I'm sure there's some fresh meat down below." Well, that didn't sound any better, he thought.

"You are a very strange vulture," she said, then hopped over to him, closing the distance even more. She was now only a wing feather away from him. "I take it you've never had much experience with female vultures before, have you?" she added.

That hurt his pride. He ruffled his feathers and stuck out his chest. "I'm too busy for relationships."

Her gaze hardened. "Too busy? Well then," she replied, crossing her wings, "I suppose I should be going. I didn't mean to burden you."

Now Lone Gunslinger understood why he never dealt with females. They were confusing and manipulative! Tell a female one thing and they'll interpret it the wrong way. Winning was impossible. "I didn't mean it that way!"

She snorted. "Am I not worthy enough to be in your presence?"

"I let you share my home," he offered weakly. "That hasn't happened before."

She was not impressed. "I can understand why." She turned her back to him and stretched her wings preparing for take-off. "I'm going to find somewhere else to stay... I'm sure the other vultures would be more than glad to have me share their nesting ground."

By other vultures Lone Gunslinger knew she planned on asking the other male vultures. An unknown surge of emotion rushed through him. Was it anger? Jealousy? Whatever it was it certainly was strong. There was no way he was going to let her share a nest with another male vulture. If word got around, he got turned down by a female... why, his position as leader would be in doubt! "Don't go!" he blurted out.

She lowered her wings and gave him a sharp look. "What?"

"You can stay here... I'll leave," he said, feeling his pride turn to dust with each passing second. This was certainly an embarrassing situation, but at least she wasn't flying away. "I'll be back tomorrow." Felicia nodded with approval and sat down. Not wanting to make the situation any worse, Lone Gunslinger jumped into the air and flew away from his home. He needed help and what better way to get advice from two lovesick sabres?

Two sabres were very surprised when a large vulture landed on their ledge. The bird seemed quite distressed, a strange look for a vulture. It wasn't just any random vulture either, no, it was the leader of them all, the one and only, Lone Gunslinger. He paced back and forth, muttering. Shira was the first to approach him. "What's the matter? You look like you've been kicked of your cliff... is that why you're here?"

The vulture glared. "I need help."

Diego grinned. "How amusing."

"Look, I'm in trouble. I've lost my home to another vulture."

Shira exchanged mocking sad looks with Diego. "Aww, that's a shame."

"Looks like the mighty have fallen," Diego added, earning a light-hearted chuckle from Shira. Lone Gunslinger was not amused. "What do you want us to do about it? It's not our fault you lost your nest."

"She made me feel guilty!"

"Oh, it's a she, that explains it," Shira commented.

The bird frowned. "Explains what? That females are controlling and difficult to satisfy?" He stretched his wings then resumed pacing back and forth. "If word gets around that I lost my home to a female, I'll surely lose my position as alpha vulture. I can't allow that to happen."

Shira yawned. "You need to apologize to her, and you really need to make it sound sincere. It's got to be heartfelt otherwise she won't buy it, and she'll assume you're playing her for a fool."

"And how do I do that?"

Shira sighed. "I can't tell you that. That's something you must work out for yourself. I'm sure you'll figure it out." She rested her head against Diego's side, enjoying the sunshine. The vulture looked at them for a few more seconds as if expecting more. Further explanation did not come. He gave up, sighing. "Good luck!" Shira said, grinning as the vulture took off.

Diego grinned. "Now... where were we?"

Lone Gunslinger headed back to his home, pondering his next move. How the hell was going to be sincere if he felt nothing for the other vulture? Something told him she'd easily detect a false line. Damn Felicia. Damn female. She was messing with his head. Control had been taken away from him. He drew closer to his home and noticed the female wasn't there anymore. Had she left?

He came to a rough landing, almost toppling over. That was a mess of a landing. Only juvenile vultures did that. What the heck was happening to him? He didn't make mistakes! Lone Gunslinger walked over to his resting spot and sat down, wings stretched. This was his ground. He was not going to lose it again. Spending time sleeping on a tree with lesser birds was not an experience he wanted to endure again.

His eyes closed. Peace at last...

"Oh, so you came back."

Peace never lasted.

Opening an eye, he spotted Felicia standing before him. "I didn't think you were going to come back."

"I decided I like this place. It's the best spot on this cliff. I'm staying and there's nothing you can do about it," she retorted, settling herself down on the ledge. A breeze blew, rustling her feathers. "If you don't want me here, you can always leave."

Why that... keep calm, don't let her show she's the one in control, he told himself. "Why did you have to come to this exact spot? I'm sure there are heaps of other cliffs to invade." All he wanted was some peace and quiet! Was that too much to ask for?

"Are you scared of me?" Felicia said, almost smiling.

He glared. "No."

Felicia stood up and walked over to his side, then sat down. Lone Gunslinger immediately stood up, disturbed by the sudden closeness. "What's the matter?" she said.

"You're invading my personal space."

"You are a stingy one, aren't you?" Felicia replied. "You know, I was talking to some of your friends while you were away, and they think your reign is almost up. It's common knowledge that the leader can't lead alone. I mean, when you meet your end who is going to carry on your legacy?" she added.

He hadn't considered that. Continuation of legacy and all that sounded something mammals cared about. "We're not like mammals."

"But do you really want another vulture, not of your bloodline, taking control of this motley crew?" she said.

Good question. He didn't want to answer that. She had him cornered and she knew it. "I never thought about it." Raising a family of baby vultures sounded challenging. Life was easy being a single vulture. It was a lonely life though. It wasn't so bad when breeding season was over; at least he could spend some time with the other males, but when breeding season was on... he was lonely. "What's your point?"

"Stop being so uptight. Relax a little, you may enjoy it," she winked.

Now she was playing mind games with him again. A sudden thought dawned on him. Had she come to this cliff looking for a high-ranking vulture to partner with, so she would have status? Is that why she was so determined to take his home as her own? Cunning bird. If that was her reason, then he knew she wasn't going anywhere until she got what she wanted. That theory made him feel somewhat glad. She was the best-looking vulture he had ever seen. Bigger than the other females too. Strong-minded. Intelligent. Annoying... All the makings of being a good leader, minus the annoying trait.

His thoughts drifted back to Diego and Shira. They seemed like an unlikely pair, yet they somehow clicked. Diego saw himself as a bachelor for most of his life, but he came around and found someone special to share the rest of his life with. He looked at Felicia, thinking hard. Her eyes were now closed, and he suspected she was sleeping. Perhaps she deserved a chance. Diego did, and he was happier than ever. Great, taking advice from two sabres, he thought.

But it wasn't a bitter one; if not for the sabres he might have missed out on something truly special. He tucked his head under his left wing and rested. Felicia opened an eye and grinned. There was hope after all.

.

They chased each other around in circles, chasing each other tails for the afternoon before deciding to call it a rest. Shira snuggled up against Diego, while her mate licked her head. "I have news for you, Diego."

"What would that be?" he said softly.

"You're going to be a father."

Silence.

Then...

"And you didn't tell me this sooner?" Diego replied, ecstatic. "That's great news!" A father. Unbelievable. He couldn't wait to tell his herd the good news. "We have to tell everyone." He was almost jumping up and down in excitement.

She giggled. "Settle down, kitty. Let's just have this moment for ourselves for now, all right?" She rubbed her head against his, purring in content.

Diego grinned. "That's fine by me; I wasn't ready to share anyway."

.

As always, reviews are much appreciated!


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